Does Collaboration in Teaching Situations Help in Enhancing Teacher's Job Satisfaction?

Abstract

Collaboration dismantles the compartmentalized structure of educational organizations and creates a safe and supportive environment for its teachers. This helps them to share valuable knowledge related to content or pedagogy, with the common interest of creating a better learning environment for the students. Collaboration supports teachers in instructional practices as well as contributes to their job satisfaction. The structure of this paper is guided by theoretical frameworks by DuFour, Eaker, and DuFour's (2005) on collaboration, Bandura's (1977, 1982) social cognitive theory, and Herzberg's (1987) theory of motivation and hygiene. The data from United States teachers' from The Teaching and Learning International Survey (2013) was used to explore the relationship between collaboration, instructional practices, and job satisfaction using structural equation modeling. The results showed that collaboration among teachers cannot directly predict the level of job satisfaction, but significantly predicts job satisfaction when mediated through the use of instructional practices.